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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27829105">becoming a believer (in you and me)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/foreverfangirlwrites/pseuds/foreverfangirlwrites'>foreverfangirlwrites</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>How We Could Have Met [24]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Character Growth, F/M, First Meetings, Kinda, Movie Nights, Moving On, and the ghost of christmas past, annabeth is cute, as usual, feat. Leo and Jason and Piper, in fic form, letting go, percy learns some things, this is the nightmare before christmas concept</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:27:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,708</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27829105</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/foreverfangirlwrites/pseuds/foreverfangirlwrites</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“I don’t believe in ghosts,” Percy declares as they watch The Poltergeist™ whisper creepily through a TV.</p><p>“It’s hard to get in the spooky spirit in December,” Jason agrees.</p><p>“Hey, ghosts can be a winter thing,” Leo insists.</p><p>Jason gives him a look. “Like what?”</p><p>“Jack Frost?”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>How We Could Have Met [24]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1256003</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>68</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>becoming a believer (in you and me)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I don’t believe in ghosts,” Percy declares as they watch The Poltergeist™ whisper creepily through a TV.</p><p>“It’s hard to get in the spooky spirit in December,” Jason agrees.</p><p>“Hey, ghosts can be a winter thing,” Leo insists.</p><p>Jason gives him a look. “Like what?”</p><p>“Jack Frost?”</p><p>The movie is forgotten as Jason turns to face Leo. “Jack Frost isn’t a ghost, he’s a…a…well I don’t know what he is,” he relents, “but he’s not a ghost.”</p><p>“Fine, what about…” Leo pauses, “A Christmas Carol!”</p><p>Jason nods approvingly. “Okay, I’ll give you that one.”</p><p>Leo beams and Percy sighs, that conversation had spiraled pretty quickly.</p><p>“I mean,” he breaks it up, “that I don’t believe in ghosts, like at all.”</p><p>Leo shrugs. “I’m open to the possibility.”</p><p>“What possibility? They’re not real!”</p><p>Jason shoots him an odd look. “I mean I don’t believe either but like I’m open to someone trying to change my mind.”</p><p>Percy shakes his head adamantly as furniture starts sliding across the room on screen. “No, there’s no such thing.”</p><p>-.-</p><p>It’s freezing as he speedwalks his way through the busy streets of the city, head tucked in and hands in his pockets. It’s moments like this when Percy wonders why he lives in such a cold climate.</p><p>In his speed and thoughts he almost rushes by a little bakery tucked between two bigger stores. Actually, he would have missed it entirely had the door not opened and the sweet scent of baked goods had floated out.</p><p>He freezes in the middle of the sidewalk. Someone behind him curses at him but he doesn’t even hear it. Because fuck, he hasn’t been here since….</p><p>The memories come flooding back, stronger than the freezing wind. It hurts even more.</p><p>The last time he came to that little bakery was with <em>her</em>…he shakes as if that could shake the image of her face taking over his mind.</p><p>And as abruptly as he stopped, he walks away.</p><p>-.-</p><p>Christmas was particularly rough because that is when they had met. It was also her favorite time of the year.</p><p>As a result, almost every other song reminds him of her smile and he forbids Christmas music in his house.</p><p>Jason and Leo know this, but Piper, Jason’s new girlfriend doesn’t. So when her phone goes off and the first chords of Mariah Carey’s All I want For Christmas is You, starts playing softly, Percy almost drops the chips he’s holding.</p><p>Leo catches them before they drop and the song cuts out after a few seconds when Piper picks up the phone and begins to talk.</p><p>“You okay man?” Leo asks quietly under his breath.</p><p>Percy nods and chooses to ignore the red lips and bright smile that came to mind. He sits down numbly as Piper finishes her call and shies away from Jason’s concerning look.</p><p>Luckily Leo’s movie suggestion is enough of a distraction.</p><p>“Frozen 2?”</p><p>Leo is beaming way more than he should be holding up an unmarked DVD.</p><p>“Is it even out on DVD?” Jason asks.</p><p>Leo beams some more. “Don’t worry about it.”</p><p>“I’m worried about it.”</p><p>“Let it go Jason,” Leo calls as he moves to put it in the DVD player.</p><p>Jason doesn’t dignify that with a response but Piper smiles.</p><p>“Hey Percy, how are you?” she asks, finally having a chance to speak to him.</p><p>He shrugs and decides to omit the part where her ringtone reminded him of <em>her</em>, and the bakery, and the eggnog drink at the Starbucks he was at the other day…eggnog was her favorite.</p><p>Instead he musters up a smile and says he’s alright and is thankful when Leo calls out that Frozen 2 was ready.</p><p>“Trust me, you’ll love it,” Leo declares.</p><p>“Uh huh.” Percy makes a face.</p><p>“Listen, you just need to let yourself, love is an open door after all,” Jason adds.</p><p>“Et, tu Brute?” Percy says dramatically.</p><p>Jason shrugs with a slightly apologetic grin and Piper leans over to peck him on the cheek.</p><p>“We need to get you a girlfriend,” she says.</p><p>“We should get me a girlfriend!” Leo pipes up.</p><p>Piper ignores him. “And I’ve got just the person in mind, I’ll introduce you.”</p><p>Percy wants to protest and he can see Jason and Leo tensing up as they wait for his response. He really doesn’t want to…but…maybe it’ll be good?</p><p>“Sure,” he mumbles, to two surprised faces and one excited one.</p><p>-.-</p><p>Annabeth is the exact opposite of <em>her. </em></p><p>She’s got blonde curly hair, sharp grey eyes that seem to analyze you. They meet at Starbucks and she makes a face at the eggnog drink they’re advertising and gets a latte instead.</p><p>She likes tea over coffee and Halloween over Christmas and thinks scary movies are fun.</p><p>It’s a complete 180 from what he knows and while it’s a nice time he can’t shake the thought of just how different she is.</p><p>“Well she’s supposed to be,” Leo argues later, “You want someone different, you don’t want what happened last time to happen again…”</p><p>Leo, of all his friends, is fervently against <em>her</em> and how she promised to stay then broke his heart and ran away. She always did love Paris.</p><p>Leo sighs and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Listen, give her a chance. This is your opportunity to move on. Let yourself be open to something new. Please.”</p><p>Percy sighs. Leo is right, as he often is, and even though he doesn’t know how he feels about it, he invites Annabeth to movie night.</p><p>-.-</p><p>They’ve embraced the Christmas spirit and are watching the one and only, original, The Santa Clause.</p><p>Annabeth is quick to point out in the first few minutes, that the main character literally murdered Santa and instead of facing any repercussions he became Santa.</p><p>Everyone stares as if they’ve just now realized this fact and Percy is lowkey annoyed that she’s ruining a good Christmas movie. (One of <em>her</em> favorites).</p><p>But as the movie goes on and Annabeth proceeds to tear it apart he finds himself laughing along with everyone else.</p><p>“Well next time,” Leo says with a smile, “we’ll choose something Annabeth will enjoy.”</p><p>“What are you talking about?” Annabeth replies with a grin of her own, “that was highly enjoyable.”</p><p>There’s a twinkle in her eye when she looks up at him and her laugh is soft and sweet when she joins everyone else.</p><p>He can’t help but smile along.</p><p>-.-</p><p>On their next date they go ice skating ‘cause it’s winter and why not and she’s horrible. But when she’s clutching onto him, and her face is so close to his, with her pink lips and soft smile he wants to lean down and kiss her.</p><p>But something pulls him back and he focuses on straightening her up so she won’t fall. He doesn’t glide across the ice like he did with <em>her</em> but they stumble and laugh and touch so much he never feels the cold.</p><p>Annabeth is funny and smart and beautiful. And he does like her. He does, he swears.</p><p>Then why does it feel like something is off, why can’t he commit?</p><p>It’s the question sitting at the back of his mind, weeks later when they’re at Starbucks again.</p><p>Annabeth’s fiddling with the little plastic ghost on her keychain as they take sips of their drinks and talking absently about everything other than the elephant in the room, when finally, she sets her keys down and looks intently up at him.</p><p>“Hey, Percy, what are we doing?”</p><p>There it is, the thing they’ve both been thinking.</p><p>“What do you mean?” he asks, though he’s 99 percent sure that he knows what she’s talking about.</p><p>“Well,” she begins slowly, “What are we doing? Are we just friends? Or something more? I just want to be on the same page. Because we go on these dates, and sometimes you look at me and I think, yeah this is going somewhere but then it just…it just feels like…nothing.”</p><p>She takes a breath. “So I guess what I’m asking is where are you trying to take this? What do you want?”</p><p>“What do you want?” he asks quietly.</p><p>She shakes her head. “I know what I want Percy, but I don’t think you do.”</p><p>She sighs. “You’ll move closer and just when I think you’ll let me in, you pull away and hold back.”</p><p>Percy looks down at his drink. He has been holding back, he knows he has. Because every time something reminds him of <em>her</em>, he stops.</p><p>“I think you need to figure things out,” Annabeth continues. “And I’m willing to help but you need to let me in for that. And I’ve been waiting for you to do that, but I don’t know when you’ll get there so…” she trails off.</p><p>Mariah Carey fills the coffee shop and he shivers at the sound. He can imagine her even though she’s not here, her red lips and bright smile. The image fades as he looks at Annabeth’s expectant and slightly disappointed face, pink lips in a soft sad smile.</p><p>He shivers again at the chorus of the song playing up and glances down at the ghost on the her keychain at the table. He stares at the white blob till it fades away.</p><p>He turns back to Annabeth. Sharp grey eyes look back.</p><p>“When I let go of all my ghosts,” he whispers, as the song fades out.</p><p>-.-</p><p>So maybe not all ghosts are like the poltergeist that messes up furniture around because they’re stuck on Earth.</p><p>Maybe, he thinks as he hangs up a little ghosts around the front of his house, maybe some ghosts just mess with your thoughts and keep you stuck on them.</p><p>He steps back to look at his work, thoughts swept up in the things that hold you back.</p><p>“Boo!” a voice shouts from behind him and he turns to see the beaming face of his girlfriend.</p><p>He smiles back, wrapping his arms around her as she laughs. It’s his new favorite sound. And her grey eyes close when he runs a hand through blonde hair to pull her into a kiss. It’s his new favorite thing to do.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And there you have it! A little bonus chapter for this month! I wanted to address the idea that sometimes you can be haunted by real people from your past as Percy is in this story. You need to let go, something that’s easier said than done, but really important to keep moving forward. You never know what you will find, and it will be better than what was there before. </p><p>Hope you guys liked this one! Please Comment! I’d love to hear your thoughts!<br/>And as always, thanks for reading!<br/>See ya! :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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